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About The Sumpter miner. (Sumpter, Or.) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1904)
""Tss-acYj-.tirwHc- Wednesday, October 19, 1904 THh bUMPTER MINhR 5 PORTLAND WILL DEMAND THAT II. 5. ASSAY OFFICE CORNUCOPIA MINE WILL GO UNDER THE HAMMER Monday, November 1, at Portland, Oregon, iu the rooms of the Board of Trade, at 10 o'clock a. tn., is the day, plaoo and hour 'Axed for tho holding of the annual meeting or tho Oregon Miners' Association. Exec utive officers from the various dis triot associations will be delegates. Officers will bo elected for the en suing year and some plan will be proposed' for the repeal of the Eddy law. The establishment of a govern ment assay office iu the state will also be diseased. The services of tho Otegou congressional delegation will bo oulistod in behalf of this project. Tho main object sought, of course, in tho establishment of a govorumout assay offico in Oregon is to urrango mutters so that this state will receive from the government statistics due and propor credit for its gold output. Ever since tho dim dawn of iniuiug in this corner of the continent, Oregon's gold yield has gone to IJoise and Sau Fanclsoo, J to swell tho accredited yield of Idaho i i i..i ir..t.. I uuii uiimmiiiiii One of tho principal schomos, it is suspected, connected with the formation of tho Oregon Minors association by Portland men, and the inauguration of a propugaudu for tho formation of subsidiary asso ciations throughout tho state, was to causo tho selection of Portland as tho site for the proposed United States assay office. This looked feasible, by reason of three out of the four mombors of the Oregon cou greBsioual delegation being either rosidonts of, or closely affiliated with Portland It was becauuo Con gressman Williamson, from tho Ssooud district, roallzod this fact, that ha mounted the baud wagou, aud, iu au open letter to his eastoru Oregou constituents, printed In Tho Miner last spring, anuounoed that au attempt to locate the federal r.ssay offico in Baker City or Sumpter would result in such a storm of pro test from the Webfoot slope as to defeat tho whole project. Now oomes the Evening 'Tolegram, hitherto one of the busiest boosters for Portland aa the proper sito, aud quietly puts in a plug against the scheme, in the following lauguage; "Senator Mitchell's good officos will be sought in this (the assay office) matter, and every effurt will he brought to bear upon the powers that be for tho establishment of an office where reliable assays may be securod, notwithstanding the fact that there are several thoroughly competent and perfectly reliable a9sayers now located witbiu the state." The above paragraph, which ap pearel iu the mitiiug department of Tuesday's Telegram, evidently got paut the lynx eyes of a copy reader, who should have known that "an office where reliable assays may be scoured" has uotbing to do with a government institution of the character in question. Such an office is for the purchase by government of gold bullion, a perfect record being kept at the transaction in all its details. The annual report of the director of the mint, wherein various states are credited with their yields, is compiled from these records. Therefore, with a government assay offico iu Oregou, this stato's auuual output of gold, silver aud other precious metals, instead of being given by government statistics at present as less than 82,000, 000, would be somewhere neater the correct fig ure 85,000,000. Autboruy Mohr, of Sumptet, secretary of the Sumpter District Miners' association, a branch of the state orgauization,said to a Miuor mau this morniug. "I shall not atteud tho Portland mooting. 1 have washed my IiiuhIb of tho Portlaud gaug. I reached this decisiou when 1 attended the recent Portland couveutlou of tho Amurican mining congress. At that time 1 dsicovored that no houoNt can possibly accrue to the Sumpter mining district by representation at any sort of a mooting hold iu tho Webfoot metropolis. Sumpter iiiuhI organize an entirely indepuniluut association of miners aud mining mon, and cut looso quick aud com pletely from tho Portlalnd hogs." J. Frank Slieltnn it) chairman of tho Sumpter District association, aud David L. Killen is vlco-proal-deut. Doth gentlemen aro ahsont from the state, aud will not atloud tho Portland mooting. it appears to be the practically uuauimous soutiment amoug Sump or mining mou that the district associa tion iu this camp should bo per mitted to die u painless and unwept doath. Tho enthusiasm which ushored it into the world has flickered out, aud few of the active members desiro to further retain sub membership in a body which spoils too much Portlaud. Not long ago, J. II. Flak, au exec utive oltlcor of tho state association, aud (he goutlomau who will liavo obargo of tho oro oxhibit at tho 1.1)05 fair, wrote a long article ou eastoru uidkuu luiuua iui n luiunun iaiui, which aitiolo purported to be his poisonal observations made while on a tour of inspection of this rogiou The article occupied a space of two columns, iuoludiug Mr. Flak's sig nature iu capitals, and a closo reading of the eutiro effort fails to reveal evou so muah as a passing mention of the city of Sumpter. Every other towu, including Ilakor, Horuuo, Granite, Tipton aud Gold Center, came iu for a mention, but Sumpter appeared not once. This is roalted for tho nolo purposo of pointing out just how Sumpier stauds with the state association. SURVEY ACROSS GASGADC RANGE In 1001 three geological parties from the United States Geological Survey were assigned to the recon naissance of the northwestern boundary. The duties of these parties iuoluded not only the geological and economic investiga tion of a atrip of country in the vicinity of the forty-ninth parallel, but especially the examination of the area with reference to the con It now develops that tho rccont order I of Judgu Delliugor, of the Federal court of Oregon, authorizing tho sale of tho personal property of tho Cornucopia Miues on Novembor 22, aud ' of tho roal property ou November 28, was a distinct victory for the Ilakor City lawyers who, for tho past two years have boon fighting tho Soarlos estate. When tho announcement was first mado cf Judgo Holllngor's order, it was popularly presumed that his action was brought about through presenta tion of au offer of a foroigu syndi cate to purchase the proporty. Not long ago Judge Hellinger issued a temporary injunction, retraining the sheriff of llaker county from Helling the mine under the hammer, In saliaf'iotinn of annul 650,000 worth of judgments and labor lions. Tho .Federal court's intervention was secured by Receiver lleattys, of Isruoklyu, wtio pleaded that. a private purchaser was negotiating for tho mine, and that a forced sale by the sheritf would do harm to the interests of the bankrupt owner. During the life of this injunction two experts exhaustively examined tho mine, aud, it is understood, re ported favoably to their principals. dition of the monuments on the in ternational boundary. The party assigiiod to tho woatorn seutiou, ex tending from Osoyoos Lake, iuj northern Washington, across tho Cascade Mountalus to tho uoast, was iu chaigo of Mr. George Otis Smith, with Mr. Frank C. Calkinss, asdstant goologist. While tho major portion of tho work was topographic and was connected with ttie examination of tho boundary, considerable general information was obtained regarding tho goology of the region traversed. Only a portion of such data Ih con tained in the joint report mado at the timo to the superintendent of tho Uuited Statos Coast and Goodotio Survey. aud the director of the United States Geological Survey, aud it has therofore seemed advisable to place the results of the reconnaissance in a form in which they will be available for reference. They may be found uow iu a rocout bulletin of tho Geological Survey (No. 2:15) en titled "Geological KoooniiainHauoo across the Cascade Hauge near tho Forty-ninth Parallel," by Messra. George Otis Smich aud Frank C. Calkins. Tho party outflted at Ellensburg, Washington Tho route by which the forty-ninth parallol was reachod was practically the samo as that used at the time of the earlier survey of the boundary, crossing Table Mountaiu to the mouth nf the Weuatohoe aud theueo extending northward along the west banks of Columbia aud Okauogan rivers. Work was commenced iu the vioiuity of Lake Osoyoos, aud ex tended westward. Until the valley of the Pasayten was reached it was found possible to keep within a few miles of the forty-ninth parallel. From this valley a detour southward was made to the mining camp Marrou, whence the party proceeded down the Slate aud Ruby creeks to Skagit liver. A side trip vas made Koceiver Heattys gave notice to all parties concerned that offers had boon mado mil set a dato for a hearing t hereof. A mooting was duly held, but tho result has never been offici ally anuouueod. Now comes Judgo Ihllingor aud dissnlvos his temporary injunction, explaining that the re ceiver has had time enough to per fect privato salo of the mine, aud that further time cannot consistently be granted. He therefore authorizes tho sheriff to proceed with a public sale of the property under execution. It is lumored in liaker City that a syudioto of local men, who have been defraying the expenses of tho legal light against. Searles, stand prepared to bid in the properly, Another rumor is to the effect that, the foreign syndicate will have a roproHuutativo ou the ground prepared to run tho bidding to a high llgure. Still another rumor sayH thai. Unhurt N. Jones, general manager under tho original Searles regime, will make au ell'ort to secure the mine In the lutorestH of a Colorado company. Whomsoever the mine is knocked down to will secure a valuable prop erty, superbly equipped, aud with a big record as a producer, even under disadvantageous circumstances. on foot up this river, over tho abandoned Fort Hope trail. Dlroct access to the mountainous country west of Skagit valley being out of the quostiou, the trail down the Skagit from Ruby to Marblomount wan followed, and thonco country roads wore traveled, by way of Hodro Woolley, aud Doming, to Maple Fall, ou tho North Fork nf tho Nooksak. This river was followed as far as vast as llaiuiegan Pass, and , the boundary lino was visited ou Silicla and Tummoahai crooks. The approach of bad weather prevented a crip to the head of Chllliwhack Lake, so that tho legion betwoen Slllcia creek aud Skagit river was not visitod. The route followed from lOlleuhburg to Osoyoos Lake affordod opportunities to roughly extend the observations mado in central Wash ington during previous years, aud thus iu somo degree to connect' with the boundary section the areas that have been mapped in detail for follio publication. In lower Skagit valley connection was also made with the route followed by the senior author iu the course of a recon naissance made in lHlifi. Tho mi I let in contains valuable data on the topography, geology, petrography, physiography, and re sources of the jf region traversed. The chapter entitled " Resources" gives information of economic value in regard to the agricultural land?, the forests, the gold and silver, and the coal deposits of the district. Pratrie Diggings Concentrates. Manager Joe Waddell, of the Prairie Diggings mine, near Prairie City, has a orew hauling coucoutratea to Tipton, for shlpmmeut thence to the Sumpter smelter. Two weoka will be requirod to complete the contract. Hauling costs $11.50 pe-i tou. The mine is closed. n i rrrrr. -p-W'nsfr"